LG has confirmed that it is currently developing a new smartphone that will feature a camera with a resolution of more than 10 megapixels and, most notably, be its first phone powered by a quad-core processor.
LG’s first quad-core based device — the ‘phablet’-like Optimus 4X LTE — was released this month, but it is planning a follow-up that will have a camera that beats the Optimus’ 8 megapixel effort – which PC World calls out as being weaker than that of the Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC One series.
According to a report from The Chosunilbo, none other than LG Electronics chairman Koo Bon-moo has had direct input into the planning and development of the as-yet-unnamed device due to his dissatisfaction that the mobile-making arm of company has not taken full advantage of technology produced by fellow LG subsidiaries.
Parts from LG Display, LG Chem and LG Innotek are used by a range of players within the smartphone industry — including Apple — yet, last year, the LG Electronics chief is said to have pointed out that the firm is not ‘making enough’ of the technology.
While various products from its consumer electronics business have found success globally — TV and screens in particular — LG’s mobile business has struggled to gain traction overseas markets in the same way that Korea rival Samsung and even fellow Asian firm HTC have done.
LG recently claimed to have sold 3 million LTE-compatible devices worldwide, and it says that it is focusing on extending the sale of said LTE range to 10 new countries, taking the total to 20 worldwide.
In comparison, Samsung says it has shifted 5 million LTE-based smartphones in Korea alone, while the Galaxy S3 (which supports the 4G mobile technology) has been well heralded and is expected to compete strongly against the iPhone 4S and Apple’s next version of the smartphone – which is speculated to arrive before the end of 2012.
LG remains a niche player in the global mobile space as recent smartphone industry data from Strategy Analytics reveals. Figures for the first quarter of the year ranked Samsung top (with a 30.6 percent of quarterly shipments), ahead of Apple (24.1 percent) and Nokia (8.2 million), with LG devices accounting for just 3.7 percent of industry-wide shipments.
We’ve reached out to LG for further clarification over the device.
Update: An LG spokesperson told us that: “as a matter of policy LG Electronics does not confirm or deny matters of a speculative nature.”
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